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#bfd5cf

a light, soft cyan · cool · closest name: Powder Blue

RGB
191, 213, 207
HSL
164°, 21%, 79%
CMYK
10, 0, 3, 17
Luminance
0.6317

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #bfd5cf is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#bfd5cf
Hue
164°
cyan
Saturation
21%
soft
Lightness
79%
light
Brightness
84%
HSV value
Perceived
81%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.6317
WCAG relative
Temperature
Cool
68/100 cool
Color family
Cyan
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
13.63:1
Closest name
Powder Blue
ΔE2000 7.9
Where it sits
Hue164° of 360°
Saturation21%
Lightness79%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool68% cool

Reads cool. Warm and cool siblings keep the same lightness, so you can swap one in without redoing your contrast maths.

Every format

HEX#bfd5cf
RGBrgb(191, 213, 207)
HSLhsl(164, 21%, 79%)
CMYKcmyk(10%, 0%, 3%, 17%)
LABlab(83.5 -8.5 0.5)
LCHlch(83.5 8.5 176.9)
OKLCHoklch(0.855 0.025 177.5)
Decimal12572111
Display P3color(display-p3 0.749 0.835 0.812)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #bfd5cf;
background-color: #bfd5cf;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#bfd5cf] bg-[#bfd5cf]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #bfd5cf;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.749, green: 0.835, blue: 0.812)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#bfd5cf")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFBFD5CF)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(207, 213, 191)

Best text color

Only one of black and white can be right. This is the one, with the number that proves it.

Readable at a glance#000000 on #bfd5cf · 13.63:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 1.54:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 13.63:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #bfd5cf as text scores 1.54:1 on white and 13.63:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#bfd5cf on white: 1.54:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#bfd5cf on black: 13.63:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #D3D2CF
deuteranopia · #CFCFCF
tritanopia · #BAD6D3

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #bfd5cf is pinned to step 300; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F6F9F8
#EDF2F1
#D8E4E1
#bfd5cf
#99BCB3
#77A699
#619486
#517B70
#416359
#314943
#1F2E2A
Base = 300Lightest = 50 · #F6F9F8Darkest = 950 · #1F2E2A
:root {
  --brand-50: #F6F9F8;
  --brand-100: #EDF2F1;
  --brand-200: #D8E4E1;
  --brand-300: #bfd5cf;
  --brand-400: #99BCB3;
  --brand-500: #77A699;
  --brand-600: #619486;
  --brand-700: #517B70;
  --brand-800: #416359;
  --brand-900: #314943;
  --brand-950: #1F2E2A;
  --brand: #bfd5cf;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #bfd5cf

Not a palette — a role sheet. Each swatch answers one question you will hit while building the component.

Text on it#000000
Black wins here
Surface#F6F9F8
Tinted page background
Border#CEDFDA
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#5B8B7E
Captions on the surface
Accent#7F4D68
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#324D46
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F0F5F3
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#16221F
Dark-mode background
Light mode
Everything in its place

Surface, border, heading and body all derive from this one hue, so the screen stays coherent without a second palette.

Primary actionSecondaryBadge
Dark mode
Same hue, inverted

Lightness flips, hue holds. The accent stays the anchor in both themes.

Primary actionSecondaryAccent

How to use #bfd5cf

Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.

Works well for
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Charts, tags and secondary surfaces
  • Card and section backgrounds
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
  • White text placed on it
  • Thin strokes and 1px borders — they disappear on light UI
  • Pairing with a same-lightness hue — edges vibrate

Similar colors

One move away from this hex in each direction. Every swatch is its own page.

Color relationships

The wheel positions with their names attached, so you can grab the one you actually need.

Complementary#D5BFC5
Analogous left#BFD5C4
Analogous right#BFD0D5
Split-complement 1#D5BFD0
Split-complement 2#D5C4BF
Triadic 1#CFBFD5
Triadic 2#D5CFBF
Tetradic#C4BFD5

RGB percentages

Red74.9%
Green83.5%
Blue81.2%

CMYK percentages

Cyan10.3%
Magenta0.0%
Yellow2.8%
Key (black)16.5%

Color previews

#bfd5cf text on a black background

contrast 13.63:1

Card sample

#bfd5cf text on a white background

contrast 1.54:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #bfd5cf;
Background color
Panel with #bfd5cf background
background-color: #bfd5cf;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #bfd5cf;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(191, 213, 207, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(191, 213, 207, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #bfd5cf;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #bfd5cf, #BFCCD5);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #bfd5cf

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

Color harmonies

Nearest named colors

Ranked with CIEDE2000 across all 139 CSS keywords. Under ΔE 2 the eye stops telling them apart; over ΔE 10 they are plainly different colors.

#bfd5cf in the real world

Where a color in this family tends to land, and the interface roles it is usually asked to play.

Industries
TechnologyTravelHealthcareMedia
Common UI roles
SurfacesBadgesHighlightsEmpty states
Print note

Converts to four-color process without much drama. Proof it anyway.

#bfd5cf, answered

What color is #bfd5cf?

#bfd5cf is a light soft cyan, closest to Powder Blue (ΔE2000 7.9). It sits at 164° on the hue wheel with 21% saturation and 79% lightness, which reads as cool.

What is the RGB value of #bfd5cf?

rgb(191, 213, 207) — 191 red, 213 green and 207 blue out of 255, or 74.9% / 83.5% / 81.2% by channel.

Is #bfd5cf a light or a dark color?

It is a light color. Relative luminance is 0.6317 and perceived brightness is 81%, so black text on it reaches 13.63:1.

Should I use black or white text on #bfd5cf?

Black. It scores 13.63:1 against #bfd5cf, versus 1.54:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #bfd5cf?

#D5BFC5 sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #D5BFD0 and #D5C4BF, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #bfd5cf?

For interface work: #F6F9F8 as the surface, #CEDFDA for borders, #5B8B7E for secondary text, #7F4D68 as an accent and #324D46 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #BFD5C4 and #BFD0D5 stays calm, while #D5BFC5 is the loudest partner.

What is #bfd5cf in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(10%, 0%, 3%, 17%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #bfd5cf warm or cool?

Cool — it scores 68 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #BFD5C7; nudged cooler, #BED4D6.

Work with #bfd5cf in the Color Lab